


Actions, Louder than Words

by LCNH1



Series: WWE Thrallverse [7]
Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-03-13 14:38:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18942991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LCNH1/pseuds/LCNH1
Summary: The fallout out MitB 2019. No one is happy.The Universal Champion Seth Rollins and the Intercontential Champion(s) Finn Balor seek to rectify that.(events fall between MitB 2019 and Super Showdown 2019. There MIGHT be some variation from actual events.)(technically a sequel to "Words")





	Actions, Louder than Words

Finn Balor had trouble finding a smile in the past couple of days. He still felt a little jet-lagged from the European tour, his back a little tender from Sunday but his mind still reeled.

Never mind all the shenanigans in the UK - sure there were bar fights, a few supernatural run-ins, some close calls and hard falls. But that was typical of the overseas tour, being “closer to home” where he got to recharge a little and see family and friends between shows instead of calling or Facetiming them.

Sunday had him excited. A Money in the Bank Ladder match. He’d already imagined the magic of working with the others in the signature event. Hafaza Ali and Ricochet would bring athleticism and creativity; Drew McIntyre and Baron Corbin, the brutality; Randy Orton brought experience, and Finn himself, along with Andrade and Sami Zayn, would bring international flavor to the match. This would be  a match for the ages and one Finn felt a little more comfortable doing without Balor’s assistance. A decision, by the end of the night, he deeply regretted.

Balor had smashed a monitor again, as well as most of the locker room that Finn had to himself. Finn knew that would come out of his own pocket, but at least this time he agreed with his demon friend.

“WHY IS BEAST BACK!?!?!” Balor demanded when Finn returned to the locker room. Indeed the room was in shambles. Benches were broken, a locker dented deeply in multiple places, a urinal ripped from the wall. Finn’s gear bag miraculously untouched, but the divots in the concrete walls and floor only magnifying the superhuman rage and strength of the Demon King. He appeared in Finn’s face, snarling through his giant maw. “BRING ME BEAST!” he ordered. “ FUCKING MURDERKILLMAIMDIE!! FAT MAN DIE TOO!”

Finn had kept a cap on his own temper, well aware of how Balor would react to this. They’d hoped that Brock would disappear last summer when Roman defeated him, but Lesnar was back when Roman fell ill. Seth Rollins slayed the Beast at Wrestlemania, and his advocate Paul Heyman assured the crowd that once he and Lesnar left, they’d be on their way back to the UFC. Yet here he is again, just waltzing to the ring while everyone else was down, waltzing up a ladder while everyone ached, pulling down the briefcase with the casual arrogance that came with his take on the entire business. Didn’t matter who did what up to that point, the Beast took as he wished and walked out with no resistance. Balor knew he would have been in deep trouble had he attacked Lesnar, so he just attacked everything else in the locker room. That way the only thing that would “hurt” would be Finn’s wallet.

“He’s probably already left,” Finn groused. “That’s all HE had to do tonight.”

Balor stomped on the remains of the monitor. “Why not Hafaza? Why not Gray Angel? Why not Lasombra? Not Bald Wolf, Not Serpent! Why not Maggintear? Why not YOU??”

Finn winced as Balor continued to protest. Mustafa Ali had a hand on the briefcase when Lesnar arrived. Ricochet, Andrade, Baron Corbin, Randy Orton, Drew McIntyre and Finn himself had all been neutralized by the frenzied action that led up to this disheartening moment.

“WE should have fought,” Balor confirmed to his human. “WE should have been there. I should have been there to STOP BEAST -”

“I’m in no shape to go look for him,” Finn resigned as he picked through the debris of the destroyed locker room. “And even if I could, what then?”

“I FIGHT BEAST! I _END_ BEAST! SHOULD HAVE FOUGHT BEAST BEFORE! BEAST NOT RETURN IF I FOUGHT BEAST!”

That jab did more than physical damage to Finn. He had been overconfident in his battle with Lesnar at the Royal Rumble that he chose to leave Balor behind. Though they reclaimed the Intercontinental Championship at Wrestlemania, this was not THE belt that Balor sought. He wanted the Red Belt. He wanted the Universal Title back, the one that he had injured his human while pursuing the belt. They would always have the honor of being the first Universal Champion, but cursed by having one of the shortest reigns at just under 24 hours.

“I -” Finn began. Balor was once again in his face.

“King of Kings fix this!” Balor snarled. “He owes us Beast! BEAST NOT WELCOME! I send Beast away for King of Kings?”

“Triple H might not - “ Finn attempted to explain.

Balor refused to listen. “No!” He roared. “*I* see King of Kings! He will give me BEAST!” The Demon King teleported away. Finn sighed and changed clothes. He at least knew where Balor landed.

\---------------------------------------

Triple H learned everything he could about the business. He’d learned the ropes, he’d learned the storytelling, now he was learning the boring paperwork and phone calls part of it. The challenge of someday being in charge of it all was welcomed, but it came slowly. He’d been job shadowing Vince McMahon for years, and had built his own separate empires with NXT and NXT UK. He sat in on regular TV when he could, and that had included this past evening’s Pay-per-view. His phone exploded with texts and calls near the end of the show that he didn’t have time to answer. He had to catch things up and start confirming things for Monday Night Raw.

He could see emails popping up on his laptop screen and his phone flashing angrily, an explosion of displeasure and confusion on the choices made for the show. It frustrated him that this show had been an amazing event up to that last few minutes, which so far are the only few minutes people are judging the entire show upon.

He didn’t even acknowledge news from the trainers with updates on the seven guys who actually performed in the mens’ Money in the Bank ladder match. They’d have to be evaluated again in the morning anyway. He sighed to himself as he continued to scrutinize paperwork for Raw, for Smackdown and some final forms for Super Showdown in Saudi Arabia; there’s another “popular” decision. Hunter simply shook his head and continued reading.

A whisper of a growl caught his ears. He shook his head out slightly, thinking the late hour made him hear things. He tried to concentrate as the growl became louder and louder, starting from just beyond his hearing and crescendoing into an unholy roar that would send most men running for the hills. Unlike most men, Triple H had been through such cacophonic fits. Between Vince’s training and a ton of advice from Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker, Hunter was ready for even the arrival of an angry Demon King that materialized on the edge of his desk.

He glanced up to see the snarling monster, a humanoid thing with glowing blue eyes and wearing a flailing tendril crown. Its giant maw wide open, a tongue as thick as Hunter’s arm lashing around as blackened arms curled taut with well-defined musculature. It roared again, angry and defiant. To its frustration, he only flinched when some acid dribbling from the giant tongue almost seared his hand. It damaged the paperwork that he carefully put aside.

“WHY IS BEAST BACK??” It demanded. “WHY IS FAT MAN WITH HIM? WHY DOES BEAST HAVE BOX? WHY NOT HAFAZA? WHY NOT GRAY ANGEL? WHY NOT -”

“Does Finn know you’re here?” Hunter asked with the tone of an annoyed parent. “I thought you had better manners than that.”

“But BEAST!” It protested again, crouching on the desk to try and look Triple H square in the eye in challenge. “Beast left! Seth made Beast leave! My turn, then! I FIGHT BEAST!”

Again the King of Kings didn’t flinch. “But you won your belt at Wrestlemania. Aren’t you happy about that? And Brock doesn’t have a belt, he has a briefcase.”

“FIGHT BEAST FOR BOX!” Balor declared. Again Hunter didn’t flinch.

“Well, you ARE going to have a match in Saudi Arabia. You get to defend your white belt against Andrade. You. Not Finn. YOU get to fight.”

Balor was not placated. “FIGHT TWICE! FIGHT LASOMBRA, FIGHT BEAST THERE TOO! FIGHT BEAST NOW! BRING ME BEAST!”

“How about you bring your voice down a bit and we’ll talk a little better about this when Finn comes for you?” Hunter’s stern gaze locked with Balor’s. “Remember, Demon King, I am KING of KINGS. I outrank you.”

Balor growled and huffed in Triple H’s face. He knew that this King was his King for allowing him even into this human arena. Whoever Opened Hunter’s Eyes made sure he could See everything, and that only made the demon angrier.

Both jumped at the sound of pounding on the door. “Hide,” Hunter hissed. Balor dove for the shadow beneath the lone window of the office while his boss shuffled papers back into place.

“Come in!” Hunter finally called.

The door slammed open, two men standing in the entranceway. Hunter expected one of them; the wiry frame of an Irish journeyman wrestler hidden under the comfort of a T-shirt and sweats. His close-cropped hair and beard more brown, his eyes a haunting shade of blue. Normally this man would have a brilliant smile on his face but that was indeed missing. Instead a firm, disapproving gaze fell on his immediate report, more questions than perhaps the whereabouts of a demonic creature that may or may not have arrived there. This man, the “Finn” half of “Finn Balor”, had arrived and was not alone.

Hunter did startle slightly at the taller man with him. This one had his unruly brownish-black hair tied back in a bun, his enormous brown eyes staring a hole into Hunter. The taller man’s frame also lithe and well-hidden under a black windbreaker, black T-shirt and black jeans. His beard neatly trimmed, moustache just over the edges of his upper lip. Hunter could see the frown in there, too; a determined frown from his protege Seth Rollins.

Hunter tried not to frown back, feigning nonchalance as he returned to his paperwork. “I was wondering when I’d see you, Finn,” he began evenly. “I wasn’t expecting you, Seth.”

“Yeah, well, surprise,” Seth’s very flat response.

“You already know why I’m here, Hunter,” Finn said in a similar tone. “Seth Knows, so Balor can come out now.”

Triple H turned slowly in his chair as the Demon King prowled out of the shadows. “Finn? Seth? Here about Beast?” Balor queried.

Hunter ignored the creature’s questions. “Wait, how long have you been able to See Balor?”

“A while now. Probably two-three years. But that’s not why we’re up here.”

Balor pulled himself to his full height and walked silently up to his human host. They exchanged knowing glances before returning their gaze to Triple H. Finn nodded to his boss. “Our secret is still safe.”

“Is it?” Hunter shot back. “I’ve heard some… interesting stories about the international tour.”

Both paled. Seth was not expecting this at all, and Finn had hoped no one had spoken up. He worried that perhaps AJ Styles still rankled from being run over by Elias on one flight, and perhaps Aleister Black filed a complaint when Balor landed on him during a confrontation with Drew McIntyre. That didn’t count the bar fights and running afoul of a former employee or two. The international tours meant a lot of money and exposure for the company, so any incident reported would be taken very seriously; perhaps even more so when Others were involved.

“I’m… not sure what you’re talking about,” Finn stammered. “I usually sleep on the international flights.”

“I know YOU do,” Hunter agreed. “But you told me once that Balor doesn’t sleep.”

“Don’t want to lie still,” Balor grumbled.

“If it helps,” Seth turned to Balor, “I can’t sleep on the plane either.”

Hunter rubbed his temples, forcing a headache away for the moment. "I know it's hard for guys to sit still on long flights. Hell, I'm not much better. I have to get up at least once an hour and walk around. But I don't try to pick fights with the other guys, I just walk where I need to walk and back to my seat."

“Even if something did happen,” Finn assured Hunter, “Balor didn’t give himself away that I’m aware of.”

“So no roam on plane?” Balor asked the room.

Hunter responded for the rest of them. “Tell you what - if you're on a charter or the corporate plane, you can roam. I just worry on commercial flights of who ELSE can see you."

“So why can’t he walk around? People would just think he’s a really good cosplayer or a really weird fan.”

“Seth, that’s not how this works,” Hunter chided his protege. “Just because you and I can See him doesn’t mean everyone can. There’s also a chance that people who can See and don’t have a connection with the company will see him. I doubt they’d speak up about it but I don’t want to take that chance.

“It can set a bad precedent for any Others I bring in.” He nodded to Finn and Balor. “I try to get Others to keep their powers to a minimum because eventually the word IS going to get out. I want some oversight so that if something crazy happens and an Other is involved, we can find a way to resolve it without starting some sort of supernatural war that could spiral out of control.”

“Is that why thrall’s on such a lockdown?” Seth groused. He was proud of his precision strike ability, and Finn had taught him well on using it to his advantage. After all, the nutshot to Lesnar had to be VERY precise…

“I’ve backed off a little on that,” Hunter admitted to the trio. “But it’s best to use that in the ring than outside it. I’ve got a couple of the boys giving me updates on that every week. I’m sure you know some of them right off.”

“Corey Graves, for certain,” Finn chimed in. “He alludes to it in his commentary. It’s a fine line.”

“Cesaro knows some stuff, too,” Seth added. “He’s been my go-to guy when I can’t get in touch with Finn.”

“I’m not as helpful as I could be,” the Irishman admitted. “You can See a little better than I can. Of course I can see Balor but I can’t always see other powers at work.”

“Nevertheless,” Hunter reminded them, "We've got enough issues with the wars people CAN see. And Knowing that you can See all this Seth... worries me."

Balor’s temper had finally abated, realizing that perhaps he was too forward in his demand. He lowered his head in apology. “No war from me, King of Kings. Punish no one here.”

This is where the Game had to smirk. Without having to address it out loud, a tacit understanding of these rumored incidents had been confirmed. He decided to give them an out. "I don't have a reason to punish anyone yet. I don't know why any of you think I would do that with almost no evidence.” He held up his hands in perceived confusion. “And even if there WAS something wrong, you wouldn't be here to confess, now would you?"

The question answered with nervous smiles from Finn and Seth. Balor glanced up to see that Hunter wasn’t angry. A faint taste of Pride caught the edge of Balor’s monstrous tongue, maybe a little Greed. Typical of any king, Balor sampled at his leisure, finally calmed but feeling a new intensity starting to fill the room.

“Now then,” Triple H turned back to his paperwork, “What brings my Universal Champion and my Intercontinental Champion to my office, besides perhaps to get this Demon off my back?"

“Was I?” Balor didn’t understand the turn of phrase. Normally this would lighten the mood of the room but Rollins and Finn both continued to stare holes in their boss.

“What do you think?” Seth asked Hunter coldly.

The Game paused in his paperwork and turned back toward them. "Something about the Pay-per-view tonight?” he suggested with a faint smile. “Finn, I hope you got checked out after the match.... Seth, you and AJ put on a barn-burner."

"I was in the trainer's room when Balor came here,” Finn explained with a similar chill to his voice. “My back is fine,” he forced.

Hunter’s smile faded as Seth marched toward the desk. “FUCKING BROCK LESNAR?! After EVERYTHING Roman and I did to get rid of this hack?? After he held the Universal Title for ransom for the better part of two YEARS and made it completely irrelevant?”

Finn strode up as well. "All due respect, Hunter, there's a half-dozen better stories that could have been told in that match. I just feel you had seven competitors who spent 20 minutes battling for nothing."

Hunter didn’t answer immediately. Seth’s glower softened to a mocking grin. "Cat got your tongue? Or maybe it's around Lesnar's-"

"Seth!” Triple H interrupted,  “I KNOW this wasn't a popular decision. I fought back on it. Vince wanted Brock for Saudi Arabia and I had hoped we could just put him in a singles match with someone else. Vince thought this was the ONLY thing that made sense about Brock getting another title shot - "

"It's insulting,” Seth retorted, “to those that, oh I don't know, were in the actual goddamn match?"

“Him,” Finn protested, “Over seven other loyal performers who have been breakin their backs for this company? Especially in that 20 minutes before he-"

"Great way to to make fans hate this company so much,”Seth accused, “they scramble to get eyes on something else. Know anything about THAT?"

Triple H Nodded. "Actually, I do. Because I've turned a ship around before and I'm trying to do it now. Until Vince is completely distracted with his football vanity project he's still where the buck stops. And in this case it's a LOT of bucks.... from the Saudi Arabian deal."

Both had heard about this deal - 10 years of spot shows over there, and the company roping in nearly a billion dollars over that time. Hard to say “No” to that much money, but ten years in the wrestling business moves a lot faster than in any other business. They had similar money coming in from Fox Sports to finally be broadcast on a network channel regularly, so while the money was pouring in, the fun was falling out.

"You've heard a lot of objections about the Saudi Arabia deal,” Finn pointed out to his boss, “and how half the roster can’t even attend to make money."

“I’m well aware of that, Finn,” Hunter replied with a sinister smile. “You’re not obligated to go. But the Demon King here, is.”

Balor’s eyes widened. He had never traveled alone before, and guessed that his human didn’t want to go. But if Balor was going, Finn had to come along. “BLACKMAIL!” Balor snarled, frowning deeper as more Pride and Greed brushed across his monstrous maw.

"I'm not happy about the Lesnar situation either,” Hunter claimed, “but Vince is blinded by the money the Saudis are offering... almost as much as the TV deal. All that money for us to essentially give them a glorified house show.”

"And you spend half of all that money on Brock,” Seth complained. “and we can't even have pyro?"

"Spending all this money on someone who doesn't even put in the work that we do?" Finn added.

“Bring me Beast!” Balor demanded, not wishing to be left out of the tirade.

Hunter didn’t flinch at any of their objections. “Someone that people outside of the wrestling bubble have heard of.”

“See that?” Seth turned to his two friends. "And that right there, is the faith this company has in us, Finn."

Triple H, losing patience, finally stood to his full six foot five and glared down at them. "You're making a VERY big assumption that I have full control of this company.” Balor sensed Hunter’s Pride fading.  “But I don't. I've gained a lot of power and knowledge working for Vince and one day I WILL replace him. He holds onto his seat of power so tight he's willing to sink the ship than be proven wrong.

“Remember, Vince wouldn't have given any of you a second look, no matter how fit or ripped you are!" He gestured to the three of them. “If it wasn’t for me, you-” He started with Seth, “Would probably still be bouncing around bingo halls! I made you into the Champion you are today, whether at me side or across the ring, I made you something that Vince McMahon would have missed out on! You were the first NXT Champion! I chose you to work with the Shield! You’re Universal Champion now! I bet on you and look where you are now!

“And you two,” he turned to Finn and Balor, “I brought you BOTH here because of your talent, your ability, and the potential connection you would have with the fans. You were the longest reigning NXT champions of the time.  I bet on both of you -” the pointing finger folded back into a fist. “And I’m still betting on you. I know you want another shot at the Universal Title, and it would be poetic justice that you get it from Lesnar.”

“Then bring me Beast!” Balor demanded again. “I fight Beast right now!”

“I can’t do that, Balor. And you KNOW I don’t take orders from you.”

The Demon King lowered his head in frustrated apology. Seth scooped up a chair and flung it into the wall before storming out of the office. Balor reached for a chair to do similar, but Finn waved him down.

“Hunter,” Finn began as he ensured Balor would not erupt again, “I hope Vince figures it out before the ship sinks or you can convince him otherwise. From one King to another,” he gestured mostly to Balor,  “I don't support what was done at the Pay-per-view. I don’t really care that I lost. More that we're all losing out because of a multi-sport neanderthal that has some name value. The world could hear more about us if you'd let it. But this might send quite a few people to the door. Don't make me one of em."

"I know what sort of enemy you can be,” Hunter said mostly to Finn. “I’ve seen your work in Japan.  There's only so much before Vince does something more drastic."

Finn turned to leave before his mouth got him into any more trouble. Balor chose one last barb.

“King of Kings should rule. Slay YOUR King,” he told Hunter and made sure this King of Kings knew he spoke quite literally. Only then did the Demon King depart with his human.


End file.
